After slowly churching in the waters near the Bahamas for the past several days, Hurricane Joaquin is finally picking up speed and moving northeast away from the island chain as of early Saturday morning.
As the storm departs warm, tropical waters and encounters increasing wind shear, it will gradually weaken. The track remains unchanged, meaning that Joaquin will sail out to sea and away from the east coast. Having said that, the Carolinas still face record rainfall this weekend as moisture from the hurricane surges into the Southeastern United States.
Given the offshore track, Bermuda is also closely monitoring the storm’s progress. At this time the storm is expected to pass west of the island, however.
Joaquin will make its closest pass to New England overnight Monday into Tuesday. Aside from some increased wave heights offshore, the storm will have virtually no impact on our weather.
Recall that the gusty winds from the past few days are actually the result of strong high pressure to the north, and low pressure to the south. Combine that persistent northeast wind with high astronomical tides following last weekend’s full moon and that explains the rounds of minor coastal flooding as well. Winds will gradually diminish during the day Sunday.
